Robert Phinisee's 39 fuel McCutcheon rout of CC

LAFAYETTE - It says something about how competitive the annual Lafayette area boys basketball tournament really is when the two most ballyhooed local teams are relegated to a fight for third place.

So it was Saturday night, when Class 4A No. 5 McCutcheon and Class A No. 5 Central Catholic met in the third-place game of the Franciscan Health Hoops Classic at Lafayette Jeff's Crawley Center. McCutcheon won the game 86-42.

Senior Robert Phinisee racked up 39 points, nine rebounds, seven steals and five assists for the Mavericks.

"I don't think any one team out here this year is a lot better than anybody else. I felt like everybody had a chance to win," said Phinisee, who has signed to play at Indiana beginning next year.

"It was huge for us to get it going early, and I think we did that. When we get our offense going, I feel like we're pretty tough to beat."

McCutcheon, which last won the Hoops Classic in 2015, took advantage of three scoring spurts to put the game away.

The first run came during the first quarter, when the Mavericks used an 11-0 run to turn an 8-8 tie into a 19-8 lead. Then, up 41-25 at halftime, they opened the third quarter with another 11-0 run that ran the score to 52-25.

Yet another 11-0 run late in the third made it 65-29 and all but ended the game. McCutcheon led by as many as 46 points during the fourth quarter.

"I think we have spurt-ability because of our steals and our defensive length. That's something we have to do," first-year McCutcheon coach Tyler Scherer said. "With Robert and our other scorers, we have to score in quick spurts, and that starts with our defense."

While Phinisee was racking up baskets, including a 6-for-12 performance from 3-point range, teammates Koby McNeely and Keldon Tyson did their part. McNeely hit five 3-pointers to finish with 15 points, while Tyson finished with 12 points and six rebounds.

Bryson McGhee added six points and 10 rebounds.

"It's very important for us to take the pressure off Robert. He's got a lot of pressure on him already," McNeely said. "We're pretty good when we get our offense on a run. When we get our side guys going, we can be pretty hard to stop."

Sophomore Carson Barrett collected 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead Central Catholic, which is a three-time state champion but has never won the Hoops Classic. Jonah Switzer added seven points.

"It's a tough tournament for us. We play 3A and 4A teams all week," Knights coach David Barrett said. "We just didn't handle that well this time. It's our first three games of the year, and it's a grind. It's a struggle. These teams are good, year in and year out."

Both McCutcheon (3-1) and Central Catholic (1-2) next play on Dec. 8, when the Mavericks host Kokomo and the Knights play at Clinton Prairie.